While they are not part and parcel of the proposed user fee schedule town council gave first and second reading to Monday night, “bag tags” for residential garbage pick-up are coming down the pipeline—possibly by May 31.
Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown said Monday that while “bag tags” will be a means of some cost-recovery for garbage pick-up, more importantly it will be a means to encourage the public to recycle and think long-term about the future of the landfill here.
And the numbers indicate recycling is something some residents need to do more often.
An annual report by Brown to the Ministry of Environment shows the Town of Fort Frances recycled a total of 183.96 tonnes of material. This means the diversion rate for the town was 1.56 percent—based on the 11,599.11 tonnes of waste disposed of at the landfill site last year.
Brown noted the town should be diverting at least 30 percent of its waste from the landfill, and that the province eventually will be pushing municipalities to divert up to 60 percent.
By having residents pay one dollar per bag of garbage for pick-up, Brown said the town is hoping people will think more about separating their recyclables from their non-recyclable waste.
That, in turn, will increase the amount hauled away in “blue boxes” and prevent that waste from unnecessarily going to the dump.
Brown added part of this waste management strategy would include composting “wet waste” at each household. The town sells these at the Public Works building on Wright Avenue.
He said the town has had 40 composters for sale over the past year at a cost of $40 each. To date, none have been sold.
Brown noted council has not yet formally approved “bag tags,” and some details still are being sorted out.
He will be giving a full report to council on exactly how “bag tags” will work, and other information (such as weight and volume restrictions), at the April 5 council meeting.
Then there will be public meetings on “bag tags” in April or May, before the policy comes before council for a vote. The target implementation date is May 31.
While it was reported last week that each residence would receive 30 free tags at that time, and then 52 in 2005 and each year after that, Brown noted council now is looking at lowering the number to a mere five in 2004—and none in subsequent years—to maximize revenues.
For instance, if residences were allotted the 30 free tags, it was expected to generate a net revenue of an estimated $35,365 in 2004.
But with only five free tags, the town could generate an estimated $120,000 by the end of 2004 (this figure is based on each household producing 1.5 bags of garbage each week).
In 2005 and subsequent years, this figure would increase to $252,000 if the town doesn’t give out any free tags.
Brown conceded this projected revenue likely will be decreased as recycling, and the associated cost to the town, increases. However, to what degree that will be can’t be determined at this time.
Brown noted he’d love to see the “bag tag” system come into effect, and see Fort Frances follow in the footsteps of almost 100 other municipalities elsewhere in Ontario.
“I’m a big proponent of ‘bag tags.’ To me, it’s a fair system that encourages recycling,” he said. “Basically, right now, we’re subsidizing those who don’t recycle and put out a lot of garbage.
“I’d much rather pay for something I can have some control over than just get stuck with a six percent tax increase, or whatever it might amount to.
“People seem to think of garbage pick-up as part of their property taxes. They should think of it like a utility,” Brown argued. “A hydro meter doesn’t care how many people live in a house. If that house uses so much electricity in a month, you pay that much when the bill comes.
“It’s a good system. People that recycle, and produce less garbage, pay less. It’s that simple.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
